This invention relates to apparatus for organizing and supporting a plurality of fluid dispensers such as IV bags and the like. More particularly, it relates to dispenser racks, stands or the like adapted for ambulatory movement while supporting and organizing a plurality of liquid and/or gas dispensers and/or collectors which may be readily disassembled, cleaned and re-assembled for use in sterile environments such as hospital surgical areas and the like.
Various pole stands and the like are currently used in hospital environments to act as overhead supports for fluid dispensing apparatus such as intravenous (IV) bags and the like. Conventionally, such stands comprise a single vertical post with laterally extending beams or arms from which the fluid dispensers are suspended. Unitary post stands with laterally extending arms are inherently unstable and are frequently overturned by overweighting with dispensers or by entanglement of drip tubes with patients or attending staff. Even though such stands may function reasonably well in a stationary bedside position, they are extremely unstable and unacceptable for use in assisting an unsteady ambulatory patient in walking while attached to drip tubes from IV bags or fluid drainage bags supported by the stand.
Similar (or the same) pole stands are often used in surgical operating rooms to support IV bags, fluid collection bags and the like used by the attending anesthesiologist, surgeon or nursing staff Single post stands are not only unstable as discussed above but, when used in the operating room, often support a plurality of fluid dispensers such as IV bags and the like, all suspended from a single post. Organization of the IV bags and attending drip tubes for easy observation and management becomes increasingly difficult as the number of drip tubes increases. Likewise, the possibility of entanglement of drip tubes with other operating room equipment and staff increases dramatically with increased number of tubes, and organization of the tubes for convenient observation and management becomes extremely difficult. Furthermore, all equipment used in surgical operating rooms must be easily cleaned and sterilized or discarded.